Summer

June 29, 2016

Then right there you've got nearly all of the major ingredients! No recipe needed.

Because once you actually scroll down and read the recipe you'll see I'm truly not kidding.

This week school's out and instead of things getting easier, I feel like the universe has turned the dial to max on my 'Devakimeter'. Now I know exactly how that hamster feels on his wheel except my wheel is connected to a super max generator or one of those energizer bunny batteries that never die.

I begin teaching the kids and teens culinary camps this July as always and I love love love them. Anyone who thinks the future gen is going down the toilet should come into one of my classes and see for themselves just what great kids I end up with each year. And they work so hard!

But that also means that end of June just when the kids come out of school, I get busier than ever. So out comes the grill. I love grilling foods or I should say I love marinating food and then handing them to Mr. Hubby to put on the grill.

For this, you want to begin with top quality Ahi tuna. The saving grace because the stuff costs an arm and a leg is that a little - just 1 lb will serve 4 dinner sized portions well with a side or make about 16 skewers for appetizers.

The rest is easy - artichokes hearts in quarters out of a can, lemon juice, olive oil and red pepper flakes. That's it.

They do however have to be eaten hot hot hot! Not so sexy next day in my lunch box as I learned the hard way.

Since you've probably already got your dessert covered, give this a go for your 4th of July cookout!

June 16, 2016

If you love mussels and are looking for a delightful refreshing herb and garlic recipe recipe this weekend, look no further.

Mussels are steamed in white wine for a few minutes just until they open their shell revealing the succulent meat within. They are then separated into half shells.

A quick round in the food processor, turn parsley and garlic into a fine chop. Add some fresh breadcrumbs, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (none of the Parmesan thank you very much) and lovely olive oil, pinch of salt and you’ve got a gorgeous fragrant filling for those yummy mussels.

Pop a tablespoon or so and fill up the mussels. In the hot over for 10 minutes and you’ve got one of the easiest meat starters on the planet. While you’re serving the wine to your guests, the oven dings and what a great treat all around!

June 04, 2016

Weekends are meant for lovely little brunches and finger foods and tapas and coffee with dear friends. You get the drift! Yes it's all about food and wine, I admit.

And I adore having a plate of this lovely on hand for a quick bite. Italy, Spain or Greece, the love for olive oil runs deep and so it should come as no surprise that all great things begin with copious amounts of stuff.

If your trainer is anything like mine (I'm thinking of you - Natalie!) and expects you to eats measured spoons and not cups of the stuff then take heart in the fact that all most all of the olive oil is sieved off and reserved for a future meal Yippee! Though I would reserve this for a cheat day...just saying.

But this story isn't all about the olive oil. It s about sauteed garlic, onions, green bell peppers and potatoes cut up into little cubes and turned a little crispy in olive oil. And most of all its about the eggs.

If it weren't for Pino Rosa from the Canary Islands and a chance friendship that started in a first class compartment of a train on the from Varanasi, 23 years ago, I probably wouldn't have been making this dish for so long.

Having loved it for so long, it was only a matter of time I brought it to you.

There are many many versions of this classic. Some mediocre and some worse. This isn't one of them. I think you'll love this one and with a few added tips in this recipe, you won't have to worry about flipping the pan and all that either.

May 20, 2016

I’m back from a brief hiatus and rolling up my sleeves getting back into the kitchen. I figured you’re used to me by now. You know I tend to disappear for several weeks a year, but I’ll be back.

The way I look at it, those like me who are here for the long haul, the blog has to fit me like my flannel jammies & truth be told, life happens.

So upon my return, why bring you this dish?

Well for one, it's delicious.

And with all these lovely vegetables hitting the market stands now, if you love ratatouille and you love salted cod, there is no dish that brings the two together quite like this version from Catalan.

I hate stereotyping this dish into ‘ratatouille with fish’ but quite honestly, it’s got all the same veggies; zucchini, squash, onions, peppers and baby eggplant but just not with as much tomatoes.

The pan fried bacalao here changes everything! Several times, I reached out for the can of smoked dulce paprika on my shelf and had to stop myself.

So glad I let the dish go all the way through. Once the fish gets added into the stewed veggies, it goes from 'meh' to yumm.

Seriously, you’ll just have to take my word for it.

Bottom line, I love this dish. Its great on flavor and so easy on my pocket book. A pound of bacalao all boned and skinned in the little wood box runs me $9.99 and feeds 6 or with teenage boys, four! Big servings for four mind you.

With all the summer bounty from local farms, this ones going on my monthly rotation. What about yours?

April 29, 2016

This one of those great weekend baking treats. . If you suffer a mortal fear of pie crust, you really need to make this crust. SO FORGIVING! It won’t tear and break on you and will come out of the oven tasting like a million bucks and you’ll impress the socks off your guests.

I love this crust – a rare thing this is that is so unique with origins in Spain and Portugal.

Ironically, nothing like the French pie crust, the texture of this crust unlike anything we usually come across in the realm of pie crust is one that takes me back to my childhood days. Probably because many bakeries in Mumbai are run by Goans and Parsis and with the Portuguese influence in Goa, this crust pretty much covered many of savory and sweet filling. This and puff pastry of course which as we know is synonymous with delish.

Who would have thought that just a spot of yeast in the dough would entirely change the structure of flavor of this crust. It adds a strength and flakiness without allowing the crust to crumble all over the place.

And it holds its own to the delicious filling we have here – with tuna, loads smoked Spanish Paprika, onions, peppers, smoked Spanish chorizo (which I add just because), chopped up fresh tomatoes, parsley, olives, hard boiled eggs….can say yumm?!

The filling once cooled is what stuffs this crust and gets baked in a an enormous 11 inch x 17 inch baking pan. No small little individual pieces to roll out here. The whole thing once baked gets cut into large squares and served. It’s the way it’s served in Galicia and so should you.

April 15, 2016

Somethings are delicious with just a few ingredients. And don't quite need a recipe - a drizzle of this, a dash of that a good rub of this.

That kind of sums up what we're making today. You'll be hard pressed finding a tapas or pinxtos bar in Spain that doesn't serve up a version of pan con tomate.

Lovely rustic bread, toasted on a wood fired grill, which sadly but not overly disappointing in my little kitchen, means the broiler. Couple of cloves of garlic, fresh summer vine ripened tomato (a must!) and of course of my favorite Nocellara olive oil from Sicily. I'm down to my last bottle and every drop is precious!

But with so few ingredients, the quality take precedence.

So easy and delicious is this Spanish staple that I'm fixing this when friends are over for dinner tomorrow night. After a busy cooking class during the day, I'm going the easy route for dinner ~ and this will be perfect!

Did I mention, the thin slices of serrano ham are just delicious as a topper! And a good glass of my favorite Oyster Bay Pinot Noir will only add to it all.

April 09, 2016

The thing traveling to places far and wide is that you carry in your heart a little part of everywhere you’ve ever been.

And just like that, you can relive a moment, a memory, a taste and at that moment you’re back there, transported as you were.

And for our family, Ferro Di Cavallo will always be favorite restaurant in Palermo. It doesn’t matter that it’s a pokey little place, where service is snail pace, once the food arrives that’s it – all vexations melt away.

Even now, a few years later, we often reminisce about the flavors of the Involtini di melanzane (because If you’ve spent any time in Sicily you know how much eggplant is loved) and the sardine meatballs and of course Bucatini with dill & sardines.

Quite simply there’s nothing quite like such a meal. It stays with you. So back home, in our little urban dwelling, it’s nice to recreate as best as I can, some of the dishes based purely on a memory of flavor and texture.

The bucatini with fresh dill and sardines is a celebration of everything I love about Sicilian cuisine. The purity and simplicity of flavors. The feeling that each bites tastes of the terra from which it was born.

This is the way pasta was meant to be eaten – 4 ingredients and no fuss. I admit, for me to get fresh sardines in the market is a rare thing. So I buy the best wide caught, sustainably harvested canned sardines in olive oil I can find in the supermarket. And it works fine.

All this recipes needs is bucatini from Italy made with semolina flour, some good quality olive oil with oomph, a nice bunch of fresh dill, some onions, garlic and of course the sardines.

And dinner comes together in 30 minutes. Rustic, real, delicious resplendent with the magical flavors that are created when fresh aromatic dill meets oily, creamy sardines.

So if you’re a fan of these ingredients and getting on a plain to Palermo doesn’t seem to be on the agenda in the near future, then treat yourself to the next best thing. A taste of Ferro Di Cavallo in your home.

April 01, 2016

It's to bring all those itty bitty techniques in making a dish that takes from the realm of ouchie to easy.

We're talking Phyllo here.

Ask anyone who is non-Greek and they'll tell you just how scary it is working with Phyllo because the sheets tear or because they can't get it all smooth and perfect. On the whole, the idea of working with Phyllo is a nerve wrecking affair. Enter Xanax.

And then talk to a Greek person (one who cooks that is) and they'll tell you just how little time they spend worrying about the Phyllo.

Hardly any actually!

The top sheets out of the packet are sticking together?

So what? Just peel them apart gently.

Sheets tearing in the process?

No worries! Hide those at the bottom! As long as your top 3 sheets are pretty, it's all good.

In short, stop worrying about the Phyllo!

Plus, I have a technique that makes it even easier. And that's 'stacking'. Stop fooling around with one sheet at a time. It's inefficient and takes twice as long. Instead stack the sheets, plonk them all together onto your dish and you'll be done in no time.

Without the Xanax.

For details on all that, you'll just have to read along, scroll down, look at pics and follow what you see.

Meanwhile, lets talk filling for a minute.

I love the filling that goes into this. Sauteed onions of at least 3 varieties is my favorite; green, yellow & red. To which is added, loads of spinach and chopped parsley. And a touch of nutmeg to keep it real. And finally, lovely creamy feta with a bit of cottage cheese but never ricotta.

When I speak of feta, I'm talking about the stuff that comes in big blocks from the Middle Eastern store of Turkish or Greek variety. None of that dried up crumbled stuff from your regular grocery store, folks.

Considering that you should buy your phyllo from such store to begin with - #4 phyllo, Athena or Apollo brands please, it's worth the trip to buy both.

Needless to say, when layers of Phyllo, smothered in your love and butter come together, nestle that delicious filling, few things in life are more delicious or more comfort food.

Truth be told, I could eat this every single day and never be tired of it. Warm or room temperature no matter.

If only my hiney and expanding waistline would heed, I'd be so good.

But never mind me. The more important thing here is that I took a batch into work and my very Greek boss who is the Queen of Spanakopita gave it her nod of approval saying it's just the way to she makes it.

March 10, 2016

And all of this only gets better with a buttery flaky wonderful crust. My version though a slight adaption from a Julia Child encompases some otehr things I swear by when I make pie crust - using a combination of butter and lard or shortening and using an egg - yolk for flavor and egg white forall that protein that also gives the crust some structural strength.

In short, you've got what it takes to never fail at pie crust...ever..again!

The rest is just wonderful full on flavor ingredients, cream, Gruyere cheese, bacon and leeks sauteed and added in, some fresh thyme.

A band wagon of yumminess all around! I love serving my quiches with a spinach strawberry salad but y'all can serve fresh fruits is you like.

March 04, 2016

Gratin Dauphinoise is one of simple life's pleasures. If you've had scalloped potatoes and wondered just how it's all cooked and creamy and oh so delicious, here's the secret to the best ever you'll make.

Use baking potatoes, slice using a mandolin so you've got even slices and then don't rinse! I promise the starch in the potatoes does so much for the creaminess in the dish.

And once you've layered, covered with milk-cream and put it into the oven, bake with foil for a bit and then finish uncovered. This works so well and you'll never ever have to worry about your guests waiting at the table and your taters coming out raw.

You'll see versions of scalloped potatoes with bechamel and onions and what not but this old classic in my humble opinion is a classic for a reason!

February 05, 2016

It's Super Bowl weekend here is the U.S. which means tons of yummy, greasy, carby foods will overtake our tables this Sunday. Before you reach for those prawns packaged up in those containers and serve it with boring old cocktail sauce, do I have just the thing for you!

And even if you're not into the whole Super Bowl weekend mania, Valentine’s day is also creeping up on us and you’re going to want to know how to make this even if you’re not celebrating Valentine’s and simply need a great recipe for dinner with family, friends or no occasion at all.

Because the Romesco sauce is a Spanish classic!

Versions of this Catalan favorite have with everything from tomato paste to chilly powder and no matter how you want to jazz this up, it remains so good.

A dee-lee-cious addition on everything from turkey sandwiches, roast chicken, roll ups or served traditionally as I’m doing here with sautéed jumbo prawns.

Uber simple to make, it all begins with pulling your small roasting pan and roasting some garlic cloves and plum tomatoes, then add almonds and macadamias or hazel nuts. The whole thing put into the food processor with roasted red peppers from a jar, olive oil and red wine vinegar. The result is a wonderful healthful sauce you will love.

And feel free to add a touch of tomato paste and smoked Spanish Pimenton if you want a richer and more heavily seasoned sauce but I wouldn’t over do it.

This dish does deserve a bit of a splurge with jumbo tiger prawns and will take all of two minutes to put together once your sauce is made.

The whole production is a teensy bit of effort and a whole lot of ooh-la-la!

January 09, 2016

Sooner or later this day was to arrive. The day I shake the dust off my keyboard and hunker down to write my first post of 2016.

I hope the New Year is off to a robust start for y'all & will bring you loads of joy, prosperity and fabulous eats!

This year marks the 6th year, I have been putting fingers to keyboard writing this website. I continue to chug along and I am ever so grateful to all of you for showing up, whenever you need a recipe, want a quick read to see how I'm faring or simply for no reason at all.

So without further ado, I'm kicking off with food talk. And what's better than briny clams with spicy smoked Spanish chorizo?

Not much peeps!

Rich, smoky and unbelievably delicious when the gravy is mopped up with crusty bread.

Did I happen to mention the clams are brewed in beer?

Oh yeah, that's how we roll!

So give it a go and I promise I'll sound a bit more coherent as the year progresses.

Could be that all the gluttony, bourbon and beer over the holidays has turned my brain-box funny. Oh the holidays!

December 19, 2015

For those of you who are wondering if I've got a screw loose, posting a rich Indian chicken 'kari' the weekend before Christmas, I'm blaming it on the office holiday potlucks.

This week I made this chicken in enormous batches for both Mr Hubby's and my office holiday potlucks. It was a hit and between the two of us we've ended up with so many recipe requests, that I'm compelled to get working on it this morning.

A shout out especially to Barb, who wants to make this for her family on Dec 23rd!

Chicken Jalfrezi is chicken cooked in its own juices with vegetables such as green bell pepper, red bell pepper & cilantro in a rich gravy with tomatoes and spices.

Once you've got the the masala pastes made in the blender and cut up the vegetables, the rest is easy! It requires a slow and long simmer for about an hour for delicious results.

I've always made this when I need to make huge batches of chicken for a party and it never fails!

December 11, 2015

What's not to love about figs and brie cheese. So good together! But add walnuts and they are even better.

I really wanted to make a crostini that is super simple to put together just with a few turns of the food processor. I also didn't want folks to have to go buy fig jam (borrring!) when you can use dried figs and some wonderful natural ingredients together, not a ton of sugar and end up with something fabulous!

We can all do with more of this during the holidays with all the potlucks and family gatherings we have to prep for.

So with a bit of dish of this and a dash of that, I think these flavors work really well together; dried figs, walnuts, olive oil, brown sugar, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil and Marsala wine but you could use any sweet wine or sweet Spanish sherry too. Why not!

I've also chosen not to melt the cheese but rather serve the fig on warm good good quality bread but by all means if you want to pop these in the oven to get the cheese a little melty, I say go for it!

November 20, 2015

I know I'm not alone feeling this way because so many of us have talked about how it really does feel like the end of the year crept up on us so suddenly.

I confess I just finalized my grocery list sitting in front of the TV last night & this year instead of having a girl's night out trying to catch up, my gal pal Beth & I are going to meet up at the grocery store and shop together for Thanksgiving!

If you're not a foodie, this would be totally weird but if you are, you'd get this...it's culinary girl bonding at it's very best!

Peet's coffee to top it off is always a good idea too!

So, I meant to get this incredible crostini recipe out to you well in advance but a late night Saturday is just going to have to do. Hopefully some of you are still trolling the web for amazing appetizers. This one channels everything I love about Sicilian cuisine - roasted cauliflower which is celebrated with the sweetness of raisins, parsley and is just wonderful.

I created it for my small plates class and was so loved! I must say if you try searching the web for cauliflower crostinis most of them have you boiling the cauliflower (yuck) and turning into goop(uber yuck!) - who want's baby food on their appetizer! But then again, maybe that's just me.

Give this a go, and turn it into vegetarian by just skipping the proscuitto or serve it on the side and folks can dig in as they want.

November 14, 2015

There's just not a lot to making this fabulous way to eat eggplant. Having grown up on Baigan Bharta, I'm no stranger roasted eggplants.

And then eating tons of Lebanese food in Sydney, I fell in love with Baba Ganoush. But the fact remains I don't always have tahini in the refrigerator and it's just nice to have a wonderful healthful & delicious way of eating eggplant as an appetizer.

Eggplant is roasted, skinned and then placed in the food processor with sauteed onions, bell pepper, garlic, parsley, vinegar or lemon juice, salt, pepper , olive oil. This dip has it's roots in Italian cuisine but a Greek friend and colleague mentioned they eat a similar dip in Greece where walnuts are thrown in. How cool!

For a little more oomph, I add Thai green chili & roasted ground cumin which I think is just fabulous in it.

November 08, 2015

It's probably a good sign when my fingers are poised on the keyboard with eager anticipation of writing about this dish - one of my favorite ways of eating chick peas. Come to think of it, I simply love it for the sake of.

This recipe hails from Spain and the variations are staggering from Valencia to San Sebastian. Just about every Pintxos or tapas bar serves this dish. It exemplifies the simplicity & the wonderful flavors that are the hallmark of Spanish cuisine.

And once again the quality of ingredients are key. Begin with dried chickpeas not canned ones. Soak overnight and cook until tender flavoring the water with cinnamon, cloves and bay leaves.

Onions are sauteed to which imported dry cured Spanish chorizo, resplendent in its gorgeous red color from the smoked Spanish pimenton are added. Then comes the chickpeas just to warm through. Fresh parsley for garnish and its ready to serve with crusty bread and some wine.

What's wonderful about this dish is it can be made in the morning and set on the table, ready to be served for dinner.

I seem to be doing that a lot lately, serving small plates to make a meal. What fun!

Not only do dishes like these make a far from mundane meals, it is wonderful for entertaining or simple weeknight meal reminiscing with the family on European holidays 4700 miles away!

September 15, 2015

With this post, Weave A Thousand flavors (which basically means 'moi'), will be taking a brief hiatus and will return fresh, rejuvenated and undoubtedly several pounds heavier in October!

But not before, I share this simple (seriously easy) and delicious green bean salad which ranks one of my top fave ways to eat French green beans, ever.

Without any creamed can business or other processed foods or mayo, this salad is simply resplendent with its flavors of tarragon, sherry vinegar and loads of Dijon mustard.

I haven’t been able to walk past the herb aisle in the grocery store without picking up a luscious bunch of fresh tarragon in my shopping cart. I mean, just how underrated can an herb get!

I love tarragon with chicken and so very much with these succulent haricots verts.

Simply blanch the beans in boiling water until crispy tender for approx. 4 minutes, cool under tap water and thrown the vinaigrette together; Dijon, loads of chopped up tarragon and parsley, olive oil or walnut oil, sherry or champagne vinegar, toasted walnuts and lovely grape tomatoes for a spot of color.

When was the last time you were salivating over a veggie! You’ll just have to trust me when I tell you, this one’s a keeper!

So lovely with the side of cold poached salmon I posted last. Give it a go!

September 08, 2015

As summer draws towards a close, I must admit this dish is one of my desperate attempts to have a lovely cold supper that makes summer evening entertaining so deliciously simple. Fortunately the 90 deg F continue to reign and so does my effort to keep things summery and cool.

So last weekend, when we had our friends over and it seemed liked the perfect opportunity for a lovely laid back cold supper without all the fuss and bustle that usually preludes a dinner party. It also helps when you’ve known folks a long time and they’re more like comfortable flannels than uptight ‘spanx’!

The menu was very simple, cold poached salmon with a lovely cucumber topping which is just the perfect combination. A side of green beans salad with a tarragon vinaigrette that I’ll be posting next and is a total must have for your menu rotation, gratin dauphinoise and plum clafoutis for dessert. Voilà!

A great bottle of wine and a flow of nice conversation and the evening was near perfect.

But I digress, and back to the salmon. Inspired by Julia Child, I worked the recipe a little differently to poach the salmon in a court bouillon rather than plain water. The stock is best made the night before or morning off to cool off before use.

I found using my poaching method yielded perfect results, where I begin with a room temperature stock poured over the salmon fillets, allowing the temperature to slowly rise for the next 15 minutes or so to a bubble and then 4-5 minutes at a simmer and it’s done.

Julia Child has the right of it when she proclaims, the poached fish should be springy when touched, if it flakes, too bad!

Not forgetting that the internal temp continues to rise as the fish sits at room temp and then finally chilled in the fridge on a ready to serve platter hours ahead, it really since simple elegance at its best.

Which brings us to the cucumber sauce. You really ought to resist the urge to turn the sauce into Tzaziki which I love, but Julia’s chopped up cucumbers in sour cream with red wine vinegar is simply divine and need no gussying up.

So by all means, do resist!

I hope you’re inspired to cook up this lovely meal as summer is fast running out the front door and but for the heat, it's nearly fall!

August 21, 2015

Today marks the last of my kids culinary camps for the summer. This one in the company of kids from ages 7-1/2 to 12 and what a week it has been!

We cooked everything from maple french toast to raspberry shortbread and had such a fun time. I've just had the sweetest kids at camp this summer so as much as I'm happy that things will calm down a little, I hope I'll be seeing them again.

Speaking of which, you've heard me go on and on about my summer so I will bore you no more.

It has however meant that some things have gotten wayside. As much as I try to believe I'm succeeding at juggling all the balls I've thrown in the air, lately it seems some have invariably fallen and rolled into a ditch somewhere.

This website is a perfect example of this. So here's me trying to get that ball up in the air once more.

Needless to say, healthful meals in a jiffy are pretty much a norm around here on busy nights. And these delightful roasted Cornish hens is a perfect example of just that!

This dish is inspired by a traditional French dish where the chicken is roasted with a similar blend of mustard and herbs and then finished with a thick topping of fresh breadcrumbs.

It's very much on point except for the fact that I've replaced the chickens with the cornish hens & altogether disposed of the bread crumbs. I mean who needs those anyway?

I'd rather have a mustard herb topping all glistening out of the oven over a crusty breading any day. Wouldn't you?

So I do hope you'll give these a go. Super easy to put together and quite delicious and refreshingly flavorful.

August 08, 2015

Her relentless dedication to her craft, her quirky self-deprecating sense of humor and the absolute down-to-earth manner with which she approaches her food and life are all things I admire.

Her recipes guarantee success....if you have a whole day, a slew of servants to do the dishes and myriad pots and pans to dirty endlessly.

The truth of the matter is, in my world of attention deficit and too much to do with too little time, I can barely keep up with what I've read by the time I reach the last line of her recipe.

Which is why I love that she challenges me!

Once a year every August, I teach a culinary class in tribute to Julia Child which is the all motivation I need to do this - take Julia's recipes, keep her end goal in mind and work it for today's kitchen & our busy lives.

I'm happy to say, that most of the time we reach a happy medium and the results are tremendously satisfying.

Which brings us to days Ratatouille.

In Julia's recipe, she asks that we,

a) peel the eggplant, dice and zucchini, salt and rest to remove the bitterness.

Check!But I must admit I don't always peel because the veggies hold so much nuitrition in their peels.

b) pan fry the eggplant-zucchini in batches to a slight golden brown.

really?

c) Saute peppers and onions together and add tomatoes to make a sauce.

Ok! on the sauteeing but not on the addition of the tomatoes here....more on that later

d) layer the sauteed vegetables with the tomato sauce and cook in layers to finish.

Hmm......

the end result she's trying to achieve here is vegetables that are not mushy.

got it!

But here's how we're going to do that without the extra steps,

I salt the vegetables, saute the onions and peppers with salt to soften the onions, add the vegetables and cook with lid to soften to a crunchy tender.

add the tomatoes and parsley and cook for another 15-20 minutes without the lid on.

finish cooking the veggies with the lid on.

This lid on-lid off method of cooking may sound like somthing out of a karate kid movie but works wonderfully well.

No mushy veggies at all! Without all the extra steps and pots and pans.

And I finally finish with a basil chiffonade (thinly sliced strips of basil) which is not in Julia's recipe but I think does so much to freshen and lighten the vegetables....that lovely summer ending!

August 01, 2015

I've been a bit absent lately but I figured that if you've been doing this as long as I've been, you as my readers know I'm going to surface sooner or later.

The problem has been, that summer has been passing before my eyes at warp speed.

It's a bit scary when in your minds eye, you've already gone through summer and are already in Fall because of all the things that you've got lined up between now and then.

I am only just surfacing after the two week marathon teaching my wonderful middle and high school kids at the culinary summer camps.

Wonderful as it has been, the next day, I could barely haul myself out of bed and napped for 6 hours after a good night's sleep.

And the next day. And then it was Sunday!

But there are places to go and things to do so there is no time stand still for busy moms like me. We just keep on, going on.

So If we haven't been doing takeaway, I hate to admit, we've been throwing things on the grill or fixing one-dish meals like this one.

Turns out its pretty much what the Spanish are doing on week nights as well, while they're as busy as we are...well they probably have a more balanced perspective to life with their 3 hours lunches and what not....but never the less, this dish comes out of home grown comfort food for busy nights.

Takes nearly no active preparation, requiring overnight marinating..which is super easy unless you're watching your chicken marinate, and minimal active time on the stove, a bit of oven time & it's as easy as it gets on busy week nights.

And did I mention beer? Chicken marinated in spices and beer. How can you ever go wrong with that one?

As always, its crusty bread and salad for busy night to go with. But if you've got a bit of free time, the patatas alo pobre that we fixed a few weeks ago would go marvelously well.

Enjoy!

PS: Turns out, blogging done in a daze results in pics missing, the realization of which hits AFTER the dish is gobbled up. Oopsy!

Recipe for

Pollo a la Cerveza

Shopping list - Serves 4

1 qty 3-4 lb chicken cut up at the joints (ask the butcher to do this)

Chicken: Wash and wipe to dry completely with paper towels or kitchen towels

Onion: Peel the onions and discard the ends. Dice into ½” pieces and add to a large mixing bowl

Garlic: Crush and roughly chop.

In the large mixing bowl, add the chicken, mustard, paprika, salt, onions and garlic. Rub all over the chicken. Pour the beer and combine. Remove to a zip-loc bag and store in the refrigerator overnight until ready to cook.

The next day: Preheat the oven to 375 deg F.

Onion: Peel the onions and discard the ends. Dice into ½” pieces and add to a large mixing bowl

Garlic: Crush and roughly chop.

Bell pepper: Cut off the woody top and discard membranes and seeds. Dice and set aside.

Method:

Heat the olive oil on medium heat in a heavy bottom sauté pan or chicken fryer at least 3” deep.

Sauté the onions, peppers and garlic with ½ tsp salt for 7-10 minutes until soft.

Add the chicken, marinade, 1 tsp salt and tomatoes and stir to combine.

Cover with a tight fitting lid and bake for about 45-60 minutes until the chicken is tender and cooked.

Return to stove and evaporate some of the liquid if a thicken gravy is desired. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with crusty bread. Enjoy!

We cooked up everything from the creamiest ricotta scrambled eggs, orange-maple french toast, Udon noodles with peppes, crostinis with roasted red peppers and Balsamico, biscotti & crumb cake just to name a few.

We worked on knife skills, talked about the science behind the foods and the importance of high quality ingredients and the stories behind these artisinal foods.

Fun! Fun! Fun!

And so incredibly satisfying and meaningful.

I love teaching my adult classes at ACE but I think it is so important for me to take a hiatus from that and do this with the kids every summer.

These children are like sponges, taking it all in & retaining everything. I love the stories that inspire and despite their nonchalant attitude as they stroll into the cooking lab, I can see their eyes sparkle when they find something interesting.

Such good kids! And it gives me such hope spending time with them, sharing what I love most about food and cooking with this eager audience.

As the week drew to a close, it was lovely having the parents come into the classroom and eat some of the foods cooked by the kids and talk over a cup of coffee.

It was heartening to hear how much their children enjoyed the class and that they can't wait to return next year. Yea!

Monday, we kick-off the Advanced culinary camp and I can hardly wait! Needless to say, dinners at our home have taken second place and most nights it's been throwing steaks on the grill, roasting veggies and fixing frittatas.

This wonderful sandwich recipe that is in line with 'throwing things together for dinner', is inspired by one summer spent in Tuscany which I kid you not, has some of greatest butchers in Italy. Dario Cecchini anyone?!

The sage-rosemary rub alone is awe-inspiring and I promise you'll put it on every thing from chicken to steak.

So lets just say this recipe is a starting point for many great things to come.

A little like me spending a fortnight with these incredibly talented and inspiring kids...

July 12, 2015

One of my favorites things is when I have a seed of an idea that works it's way as I muddle through, to a blossom of a recipe!

So here's a simple idea that just turned out to be spectacular. Having made at least 4 times since Memorial day weekend & taught it at my Great American Desserts workshop just before 4th of July, I'm ready to state that it is past testing phases and ready to share.

A cake base that is the usual combination of butter, sugar eggs & flour but with the addition of chopped up candied orange peels come together into a thick cookie like dough and baked at the bottom of the cake pan, ever so slightly.

Meanwhile, an easy peasy custard is whipped up with eggs, vanilla (pure of course!), shredded coconut, a teensy bit of flour and cream.

Poured right over the slightly baked base, topped with super ripe apricot halves and baked until it sets.

Cool, cut into wedges and serve. Simple or what?!

I have much to be grateful to Mr. Hubby's co-workers for; they have over the years stoically borne the fruits of my 'straight off the press' recipes and even take a moment to send lovely comments like this one via hubby;

"One of the best cakes I have ever had. Thanks SD! And thank your wife".

- EG

"My compliments to the chef. This cake is FANTASTIC!"

- CD

Trust me when I tell you, you won't find a better way to glorify summer apricots and irrespective, this one's a keeper!

So I hope you'll give it a go while apricots are still hot on the market stands.

The picture of the cake, on the way to Mr. Hubby's office is incredibly less flattering that the final product and I was so hoping to get a nice pic for the website of a nice cut wedge, but the cake pan returned at the end of the day with not a crumb left.

July 02, 2015

I've had a jolly good time working on this recipe these past two weeks. And just in time for 4th of July!

And considering that the boys have had to endure several 'tastings' sigh...someone has to do the dirty work, enough said!

So it has the building blocks of your good ole' tiramisu - the luscious cream with homemade mascarpone (preferably), Italian imported sponge finger biscuits and also the espresso.

But herein lies the deviation, to keep the flavors quite summery and not strong on the coffee, I've diluted the espresso with water just for a hint of flavor. The cream is as is traditionally made by whipping egg yolks and sugar into thick creamy ribbons. To which is added the mascarpone and whipped cream. I've also added lemon emulsion which I'm always raving about and is key to getting that light summery flavor which pairs perfectly with the berries.

The egg whites are whisked with a touch of cream of tartar to soft snow white peaks and folded at the very end to the mascarpone cream.

So here's how you assemble; 1st the coffee dipped biscuits, then the mascarpone cream, layer of sliced macerated strawberries (only), remaining biscuits, remaining cream and into the refrigerator to chill for 12 hours.

Macerated mixed berries at the very end served directly onto individual servings to avoid the berries bleeding onto the delicate cream.

As always, use the best quality ingredients (eg use vanilla bean paste not imitation extract) and I think you'll really enjoy this for the holidays!

I cannot emphasize just how delicious this turns out. It is delicate, luscious and just plain old fabulous!

However, not the best choice for outdoor events where it will be sitting in the hot sun. Best served refrigerator to plate!

Here are some troubleshooting tips:

So what do you do if your cream is runny?

For peace of mind, I add agar agar to water and whisk on the stove until just thick and syrupy. I then dump this into the mascarpone cream and whisk like mad so streaks don't form. After which you just assemble as usual.

Agar Agar by the way, is an age old vegetarian thickener from algae that has been used for hundreds of years in Asian cooking.

You really do need to chill the tiramisu overnight or for 12 hours.

So what if you do not have 12 hours (and have only 6 hours)?

Avoid adding the egg whites at the end (since they are composed mainly of water & will thin the cream down) and definitely do the agar agar syrup into the cream.